Tis the season for ignorance, blindness, religious blah blah blah, idolatry, fantasy, and more! This Christmas, Pope Francis is contributing his fair share.

In an open Christmas letter to beleaguered Christians in the region, the Pope called on Muslims to push a “more authentic image of Islam, as so many of them desire. Islam is a religion of peace, one which is compatible with respect for human rights and peaceful coexistence.” (source)

This is not the first time the Pope has insisted that Islam is “a religion of peace,” despite the overwhelming worldwide evidence to the contrary. His repetition of this propaganda is more of a fantasy than insisting that Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer actually exist! In the parts of the world where Muslims are dominant, human rights and peaceful coexistence are as rare as flying sleighs full of presents!

In response to the Pope’s out-of-touch-with-reality statements, Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch wrote:

Has he ever wondered how this version of Islam that he assumes to be inauthentic has become so widespread and so powerful as to displace millions of Christians from the Middle East? Moreover, condemnations are easy. What we really need to see from Muslim leaders who profess to oppose jihad violence is real action against it to prevent young Muslims from adopting this view of Islam. But we do not see that, and neither the Pope nor anyone else seems to notice or care. (source)

In his Christmas Day address today, the Pope lamented that Islam is not living up to his ideal as a “religion of peace:”

Pope Francis wants to bring hope to Christians and other ethnic and religious groups suffering “brutal persecution” in Iraq and Syria. The Pope used his Christmas Day blessing to draw attention to displaced children and adults in the Middle East “who for too long now have suffered the effects of ongoing conflict,” he said, in a reference to the Syrian civil war and increased instability in Iraq with the rise of ISIS.

He prayed for ... peace in Nigeria, where Islamic militants are killing and kidnapping people in the northern part of the African country. “May Christ the Savior give peace to Nigeria, where more blood is being shed and too many people are unjustly deprived of their possessions, held as hostages or killed,” he said.

He also noted other African countries dealing with a rise in Islamic militant attacks ... “Truly there are so many tears this Christmas,” he said. The Pope also addressed last week’s school massacre in Pakistan in which Taliban militants gunned down students. (source)

Oh Allah! We have sinned in the sight of both you and the pope. Although we have faithfully lived out Islam according to the teaching of the Qur'an, we now realize that the pope is right! We have strayed from the path of human rights and peaceful coexistence. Therefore, we will abandon your clear instructions in the Qur'an and become good little Catholics instead. Hail Mary, full of grace ...

Oh yeah — and last night Santa Claus landed his sleigh on the roof of our house, slid down the chimney, and left a huge pile of expensive gifts in our living room! And then I woke up — it was ALL a dream!

If the Pope wants to wake up from his dream, he should stop asking Muslims to deny their faith by being nice to infidels like Christians. That’s like asking Hitler to celebrate the Passover with his Jewish buddies. Rather than indulging in religious fantasies, the Pope should be focusing his attention on the teachings of the New Testament. As I wrote in Crucified Again — Sharing Yeshua’s Suffering:

Most of mainstream worldwide Christianity seem to feel that persecution of Christians is a surprising and unnatural occurrence which should be avoided at all costs. This faulty religious Christian worldview is completely at odds with what the New Testament teaches about persecution. For example,

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Messiah, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Messiah, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.... If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:12-14,16,17,19)

Yeshua’s persecution and suffering and death were not in vain. On the contrary, it was precisely these things which brought eternal salvation and life to all of mankind. As followers of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah, our persecution and suffering and death at the hands of Muslims are not in vain. On the contrary, it is precisely these things which will bring eternal salvation and life to those enslaved by the demonic ideology and deception of Islam.

Yeshua loved us enough to willingly lay down His life so that we might be saved from sin and eternal damnation. Are we willing to imitate Him, to follow Him, by laying down our lives for the Muslims He already died for? Or, like many Christians, like the Pope, will we lament and complain about the unjust persecution of Christians, as if we should expect, despite what the New Testament teaches, to have a right to live a peaceful persecution-free life?

Because the vast majority of Christians have been generally un-Christlike, Yeshua has been obscured and the hearts of Muslims have been hardened. When the followers of Yeshua start looking like He did, suffering and dying for the lost out of love and devotion, then and only then will Muslims start to have the eyes of their hearts opened to see Yeshua for who He truly is.

Persecution by Muslims is not something to be avoided and condemned, but something to be embraced as we seek to follow in Yeshua’s footsteps and bring His salvation to the Muslims. At the same time, it refines and purifies our faith, like gold in the furnace.

Enough of this pathetic popery and his religious blah blah blah! It’s time to focus exclusively on the words of Yeshua, the TRUE and ONLY head of HIS Ekklesia (Church). As He Himself taught:

“You are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘Father,’ for you have one Father, and He is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah.” (Matthew 23:8‑10)

“Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23‑26)